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Apple Care. Worth it?

Never bought one in 15 years of computer buying. Never once regretted it or needed it.
 
Hi, I have some doubts about apple care as well and didn't want to create a new topic.

I currently live in Italy and I purchased a MP here, in march of this year the 1 year warranty will expire and I'm in doubt if I should get apple care or not mainly because by the summer I'll be probably leaving to go live in another country. Would I be covered by Apple Care in a different country?

and replying the topic...
I have also a MBP which I bought in 2007 without Apple Care. This year I had a problem with my battery that got swollen. First Apple support tried to make me feel bad by not buying apple care but in the end I got a battery replacement for free... So in that case I don't regret much by not buying Apple Care.
 
Never bought it, never will. The day I feel AC is a necessity will be the day I leave Apple.
 
Jaro65 said:
Buy it. You may not need it. But when you do, it will more than pay for itself.
Click to expand...

100% agreed. AppleCare has more than paid for itself on this MacBook Pro, and I would strongly recommend it if you are purchasing a laptop and plan on keeping it for 2+ years. As a student I cannot imagine not having it.
 
phoobo said:
to pay 20-25% of the price of a computer (in the case of an Apple laptop) for an extended warranty. This is where the big electronics chain stores have been making huge bundles for decades, because it's a much better deal for the seller than for the buyer -- and they generally charge a much lower percentage than Apple. (When people speak of the "Apple tax," they should really be talking about the price of Apple Care -- way out of line with industry standards -- more than the price of the machines, which I don't think is all that unreasonable.)

It's a sucker's bet -- like playing the money wheel at Vegas.

Imagine if you bought a $40,000 car, and were offered the same kind of service deal -- for $10,000. Would you take it?

Also, factor this in: after a year, an Apple computer is worth 60-80% of its purchase value, depending on condition. What does this mean? It means Apple Care represents an even *higher* percentage of the value of the machine -- easily as high as 30-50%!

But hey, if it makes you feel better...

Remember: all Apple computers are covered for a year anyway. Statistically, the machines that make it through that first year problem-free are less likely to contain defective parts. Other damage may be caused by physical wear -- much of which AC will not cover.
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I think you've got it. My macbook retails for $900 (edu price) and applecare is $250 - that's 28% of the NEW purchase price! If this percentage is applied to the Toyota I bought for $23k, the extended warranty would cost $6500 instead of $1000!

I know many people have saved money with applecare, but in the long run, I think it's proven that extended warranties on appliances and electronics don't save money for the overwhelming majority of people. Regardless, the fear of uncertainty keeps us buying them.

One of the reasons I bought a mac is because most studies/people say they break less than other brands...I bought the Toyota for the same reason. Shouldn't making smart buying decisions be my insurance policy?

And heck, the odds are probably in favor of someone accidentally breaking their macbook - so why not buy accidental coverage instead of applecare? I bet 1 yr of accidental coverage has about the same return on investment as applecare.
 
If you don't have any problems with your machine in the first year chances are good that there will be no major problems within the next 2 years. If there are any defects within the first year I'd get Apple Care, just in case they return.

That's just the way I do it.
 
Yes it's worth it

I have am early 08 15" MBP and just recently had the logic board as well as the screen replaced by Apple which would have cost me $1,400.00. If you buy a new computer every year then you will probably be safe. If you tend to hang on to them then yes it is worth it.
 
iMav said:
I, too, use my AmEx for electronic purposes. I rarely keep my Macs longer than two years. For those that want to keep their Macs long term, buy your AppleCare with your Mac with an AmEx. AC is considered a manufacturers warranty, so AmEx will double up to 5 years.
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iMav,

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that Amex won't double the warranty on an Applecare machine. This is based on how I read the T&C's on Amex's site.

I think it would be behoove someone considering this route to check with Amex prior to do this, otherwise they may end being outside coverage when they thought they were OK.

Also, Amex's T&C's state that you must purchase the item in full with the Amex card. The way it reads sounds like if you use a Gift Card or coupon for a portion of the purchase, it's not covered. Again, do your due diligence prior to purchase and get something from Amex in writing.

ft
 
nigameash said:
get it, its well worth it in case of repairs ;) $250 is nothing as compared to the cost of replacing the logic board($1200) in case of any issues
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Maybe, but that's the kind of logic they count on. rationally you should compare 100% chance of paying $250 to an N% chance of paying $1200 at some future point (money now is worth more than money later, too)
 
Judging by what I see on ebay, a severely broken mac isn't worthless. I see a lot of them going for $200 or so with damaged logic boards or broken LCDs.

Lets say you pay $1100 for a macbook pro...

At month 18 the LCD goes out and Apple wants a bunch of money to fix it. In perfect condition your 1.5 yr old mbp has a street value of $750 or so.

Purchasing applecare would've saved $750 (what you can buy another computer for) - $200 (the broken computers value) - $250 cost of applecare = $300. That's not too much. During year two the savings is ~$150 considering the computers value is about $600 at that point. During year 3 there is no savings.

So basically you put up $250 and you have a ~4% (a guess at Apple's catastrophic failure rate) chance of making $0-300. I think most gamblers would never take that bet.
 
i opted not to buy applecare. it just seemed too expensive for my aging laptop that hasn't had any problems yet.

if it's accidental damage, applecare doesn't cover it. if the monitor/hard drive/optical drive/keyboard/ram/etc. fails, i kind of figure i can do the repair myself at a bargain price. if the logic board fails then i'm screwed
 
I would get it if I was keeping my laptop for over a year or if it was a "new" design.

I've had the battery replaced twice on my Macbook Pro and the Superdrive fixed after the original warranty ran out.

It may not pay for itself if nothing goes wrong but it does make the process painless if something big did fail.
 
APPLECARE, in my opinion, is a must. It takes the worry away from you. Apple's insurance is one of the few which actually is worth it. It's worth the 250$ extra! ;)
 
MikeACmdLV said:
I have purchased AppleCare for various Apple Computers and Devices over the last 15+ years, but have only had to use it 2-3 times for relatively minor issues (In contrast, my 1st Dell laptop has had 2 motherboard changes in the last year under CompleteCare, which would have cost in total almost as much as the computer!!
I was nonetheless impressed with the Dell On-Site prompt handling of this problem)

Unlike the Dell CompleteCare though, AppleCare is not "On-Site" (You at least need to bring it in to an Apple Store) and most importantly, does NOT include Accidental Damage/Handling, which I think would be more useful peace-of-mind and a better return on one's investment in an Extended Warranty. My wife had an iPhone 3GS 32GB with only a few months use which would no longer sync with our Mac- when we took it in, we were told it had "water damage" and would not be covered (my first introduction to the dreaded red spot indicator) even though she had it in a OtterBox Defender Protective Case (hot-pink!) from day-of-purchase and did not subject it to overt water exposure!! (Nonetheless, if AppleCare included Accidental Damage, her relatively new iPhone 3GS would presumably have been covered)

Overall, I would still purchase AppleCare but just wanted to point out to you that Accidental Damage is not covered and that was used against us on one occasion as an excuse to not replace our defective iPhone. (I can afford to buy another one and do not need to lie about water exposure- I truly think the "red indicator" has a hair-trigger and was a "false positive" in our case!!)
Click to expand...

Apple Care gives onsite coverage to desktops.
 
eddiehaskell said:
I think you've got it. My macbook retails for $900 (edu price) and applecare is $250 - that's 28% of the NEW purchase price! If this percentage is applied to the Toyota I bought for $23k, the extended warranty would cost $6500 instead of $1000!

I know many people have saved money with applecare, but in the long run, I think it's proven that extended warranties on appliances and electronics don't save money for the overwhelming majority of people. Regardless, the fear of uncertainty keeps us buying them.

One of the reasons I bought a mac is because most studies/people say they break less than other brands...I bought the Toyota for the same reason. Shouldn't making smart buying decisions be my insurance policy?

And heck, the odds are probably in favor of someone accidentally breaking their macbook - so why not buy accidental coverage instead of applecare? I bet 1 yr of accidental coverage has about the same return on investment as applecare.
Click to expand...

So you got a edu discount for your comp, but paid full price for APP? :confused:
 
eddiehaskell said:
I didn't buy it. Even with edu pricing it's nearly $200 after tax - not worth it for me.
Click to expand...

Recent repair for my MBP: top case assembly for $368.00, not including the 2+ batteries (and many other items) generously replaced over time. Indeed, the batteries alone have more than paid for purchasing AppleCare.

But to each his own.
 
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